OCR Latin Prose Translations

BOUDICCA'S REBELLION TRANSLATIONPrasutagus, King of the Iceni, famous for his riches for a long time, had written that Nero was hisheir and his two daughters were also heirs thinking that by such submissiveness, both hiskingdom and his name would be safe from harm. Things turned out just the opposite, to such anextent that the kingdom was plundered by centurions and his house was plundered by slaves justas if it had been captured. To begin with his wife Boudicca was beaten and his daughters wereviolated by rape. All of the chiefs of the Iceni, as if the Romans had received the whole region as agift, were deprived of their ancestral possessions and the relatives of the King were treated likeslaves. Driven by this humiliation and in fear of more serious things because they had beenreduced to the status of a province, they seized arms. The Triniobantes were moved to rebellionand others who had not yet been broken by slavery pledged themselves in secret conspiracies totake back their freedom. Their hatred of the retired soldiers was very bitter, who recently havingbeing settled in the colony of Colchester were driving the Trinobantes from their homes. Theywere forcibly expelling them from their fields and they were calling them captives or slaves and thesoldiers were encouraging the insolent behaviour and the savagery of the retired soldiers becauseof a similarity of life and in hope of the same freedom to misbehave. Moreover the temple built tothe divine Claudius was regarded as a focal point of eternal domination and the chosen priestswere pouring out all of their fortunes in the guise of religious fortune. And it did not seemdifficult to destroy the colony which was not fortified with any defensive walls because our leadershaven't considered it enough since they paid attention to attractive appearance over practical use.Now Suetonius had the 14th legion with detachments of the 20th and auxiliaries from neighbouringareas, about 10,000 armed men: he prepared to hurry and join battle. And he chose a place withnarrow passes and closed from the back by woods for he knew that there would be no enemyexcept in the front and the plain was opened without fear of ambushes. And so the legionarysoldiers were drawn up in close formation with the lightly armed troops stationed around themassed cavalry stood by on the wings. But the British troops were rushing about widelyeverywhere in groups of infantry and cavalry and a great crowd like no other and they were soferocious in their souls that they also dragged their wives with them as witnesses of their victoryand the placed them in carts which they had positioned at the edge of the plain.At first the legion, not moving from its position and defended by the narrowness of the place,after it had used it javelins on the approaching enemy with an accurate aim, it burst out as a wedgeformation. The auxiliaries also made an attack and the cavalry, with their spears at full stretchbroke through whatever was in the way strongly. The others turned trail in a difficult escapebecause the surrounding carts had closed off the way out. And the soldiers did not even spare thewomen and they even stabbed the baggage animals with javelins and increased the heaps of bodies.On that day the soldiers gained a famous glory which was equal to ancient victories: indeed thereare those who report that a little fewer than 80,000 Britains had perished, about 400 of oursoldiers were killed and not many more were wounded. Boudicca ended her life with poison.

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DRUIDS TRANSLATIONThe PowerThe Druids are concerned with divine matters, they look after public and private sacrifices, andthey explain religious questions: a large number of young men flock to them to learn, and they areheld in great honour among them. For they decide almost all public and private disputes, if thereis any crime committed, any murder done, a dispute about inheritance, about boundaries, theDruids settle the matter, they decide the rewards and punishments.…read more